Charm City is an independent comedy written and directed by the late Ralph Prepetit and produced by Marc Weiner. It was the first feature film I edited.* I was recommended for the assignment by the cinematographer Peter Mullett, whose IMDB credits in no way do justice to his fascinating career.
The film is about a womanizing college student with a serious gambling problem played by the always entertaining Johnny Alonso. The film takes place over a hectic day in his life as he desperately hits up all of his friends for money to pay a gambling debt to his bookie and avoid his girlfriend, who he is cheating on.
The director and producers and the leads were all recent college graduates themselves and the film reflected the world they lived in. That world seems to have been very vulgar and more than a little misogynistic. Misogyny was not uncommon in films and stand up comedy of the 1990s. Have you watched In The Company of Men or Clerks lately? I don't know how old and stogy I appeared at the time, but director Ralph Prepetit warned me that I might find the language in the film, and the rap songs he wanted to use as a temp track, offensive. I didn't. However, it was too much for my assistant editor Patricia Macneal. She read the script and flatly refused to work on the film. I had to replace her with my friend Patricia Schweers, who usually worked on big budget Hollywood films.
The film was shot on Super 16mm. It had a very tight shooting ratio of about three-to-one. I believe we had less than six hours of footage overall. (I have subsequently edited features with more than six hours of footage for one scene!) We were so desperate for cutaway material that I often resorted to using shots of the actors after the slate was pulled away but before action was called to use as reaction shots in dialogue scenes.
There is a lot of bad language in the film. Being a little more experienced in the world of indie filmmaking, I warned the director that it might prove a hinderance to distribution. Ralph wasn't worried. He pointed out many examples of films equally foul-mouthed that got distribution. Oh well.
We edited the film in a week on Baltimore filmmaker Michael Lawrence's Avid system. I stayed involved through the sound mix by Lewis Mills at Flite Three Studios and the negative cutting by Donny Bono. Ralph left for California before the film was completed. It was deemed that the ending didn't quite work. I was brought on to write a final scene. We shot the scene and incorporated it into the film. So, yes, this is my first produced feature writing assignment. Uncredited, of course.
I don't know if they ever tried to get the film into festivals, but the language proved to be a barrier to distribution, just as I predicted. Ralph called me a couple months after the film was completed and asked if there was anyway to remove some of it. I didn't see how we could. It was completely baked into some of the scenes and we had no alternate takes. The chances of distribution increasingly faded when the director broke with the producers and there seemed to be confusion about who owned the film and who could make a deal.
A few years later I had dealings with a distribution company that I felt would like the film. I called Marc Weiner and his brother and producing partner Bryan. I told them about the possible deal. They told me to pursue it. I asked if they had the authority to sign a deal or whether they had to get Ralph's approval. They assured me they could make the deal. I contacted the company and gave them a DVD I made from a VHS screener. The distribution company said they wanted it. I told Marc and Bryan the good news. However, they then said they would have to get Ralph's approval before they proceeded.
The deal was never made.
I washed my hands of the project with some regret. Although the film wasn't to my taste, I do regret that the work of the actors would never be seen. There were some nice performances.
Years later, I saw star Johnny Alonso at a social function. He asked if I had a copy of the film. I said yes and gave him my final DVD print. That left me with nothing but a decaying VHS copy and a closet full of Super 16mm work print. (Long story, don't ask.) Recently, I was talking with another friend named Ed Neenan, who had written and performed the song under the opening credits. He asked me if I had a copy of the song. I reached out to Johnny Alonso, and asked if I could get the DVD back to post the film online. Johnny beat me to the punch.
I'm glad the film is online. I wish it was a better print. Someone somewhere has a final film print and a high quality video transfer. Sadly, I don't think it will ever see the light of day. That's a shame, especially now that Ralph has passed away. This film is part of his legacy.
So, if you want to see Charm City, you have to watch this print on YouTube.
Enjoy, if you can....
I wish I had the ambition to put the film on the IMDB.
*Technically speaking, I might have done some editing work on Tom Brandau's feature Cold Harbor prior to my work on Charm City, but Charm City was completed first. The famous writer/director Mike Flanagan did the final edit of Cold Harbor. To his everlasting credit, Mike managed to convince Tom to cut a scene that stopped the film dead in its tracks.
Chapter 15 - Quarter To Midnight
Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.
You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3